I. Exemplary Security Applications
Much of security monitoring is concerned with visually monitoring areas looking for security issues or even specific security threats. Security cameras are common features in banks, shopping malls, parking lots, office buildings, schools, hospitals and retail outlets to name but a few. While security cameras yield good information on traffic patterns and visual activities, they present many challenges in both setup and use. For setup, they may be placed in an area that has a good field of view of the area being monitored. This normally entails placing them at some height above that of the average object of interest. They may be supplied with power and adequate lighting. They are attractive targets for both theft and vandalism, so they may need to be protected. To increase their field of view, some cameras may be steered and thus may be placed within a controllable housing which involves considerable additional complexity. For real-time monitoring, the camera video signal may need to be conveyed back to a control area. Since surreptitious monitoring is sometimes desirable, the cameras may need to be placed behind some sort of visually deceptive screen.
Proper upkeep and monitoring of security cameras typically requires many functions to be performed. The lens typically needs to be kept free of dirt and debris. Tapes need to be stored and changed, and endless loop tapes may need to be periodically checked for damage. If real-time monitoring is required, a dedicated staff may maintain constant vigilance over, sometimes, many displays as they cycle through an oftentimes even larger number of cameras. These cameras are often equipped with motion sensors or other cueing sensor; however, the false alarm rates for these systems can be high depending on the type of sensor, its placement and the environment.
With the perceived heightened security threats in many public places, there is a need for systems that can identify specific humans. Cameras are only very rarely equipped with autonomous evaluation software that would attempt to count people or otherwise evaluate broad traffic patterns. Some other types of video systems operate in either the visual, near infrared (NIR) or thermal bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. In general, these systems work by defining face characteristics and then matching these characteristics to a database. Such systems typically require careful setup to attain the proper lighting conditions, camera angle and throughput. Other technologies under consideration include Doppler and MTI radar for examining gait characteristics. Such systems require line-of-sight to the subject and are thus susceptible to problems with occlusion. They also often rely strictly on external geometry characteristics of the subject.
II. Exemplary Health Monitoring Applications
The sedentary nature of many adults along with commensurate levels of obesity is among the highest health risk factors facing Americans today. It is reported that only 40% of Americans are physically active, leaving the majority more susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and other debilitating diseases (Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, Harvard School of Public Health, Newsletter, February/March 2001).
While inadequate levels of exercise have a profound impact on the lives of many people, measuring this effect is difficult. Current approaches include self-report surveys, subject studies employing pedometers, heart rate monitors and accelerometer devices, the doubly-labeled water method, field observations and field sensors. For higher levels of habitual physical exercise, physical fitness markers such as blood pressure or stress test measurements have also been used. These methods are generally unreliable, expensive, or intrusive.
Regarding field sensors, typical devices for measuring physical activity include: video, infra-red (optical) beam and acoustic. These systems are designed to count individuals crossing a line while walking.
Video systems are generally considered the current gold standard in this area. Video output is streamed to a computer where software image processing reduces the data to provide head counts. Problems with video systems include expense, long set-up times, and risk of vandalism or theft. In addition, the video processing software is often inconvenient to use and suffers accuracy problems with crowds.
The infra-red and acoustic systems are less expensive, but they are also much less accurate, especially when used with crowds. They are difficult to set up and calibrate, and it is very difficult to check the data for accuracy. With a video system, if the researcher is doubtful regarding a particular span of time, they may go back and review the video to determine the accuracy of the count. With an IR or acoustic system, such checks are generally not practical.
III. Market Survey Systems
Modern retail outlet design generally requires accurate knowledge of consumer traffic patterns. High value goods are place in areas that increase their prominence and sales opportunities. An example of this is the placement of the meat and deli counters at the end of the aisles in most grocery stores. As shoppers move up and down the aisles they are given repeated opportunities to view the meat and deli counters, thus increasing the probability that they will either remember some item that they may need or even be enticed by the display to purchase these high margin products. In addition, traffic flow is important for generating a pleasing shopping experience. The competition for shelf space in some high-volume outlets is keen, and a knowledge of shopper traffic patterns permits good design of permanent shelving and temporary displays that maximize shelf space while minimizing congestion at peak traffic flow rates.
Current tools for monitoring patterns are based primarily on human observers either on site or remote via television camera. Surveys are laborious and time-consuming activities. Thus, many organizations restrict their surveys to selected test stores and assume that the results carry across all stores. This is one reason why many retail outlets appear similar in layout. (Another important reason is consistency in shopping experience across a branded chain.)
Thus, while much work has been done in the past, further developments are both necessary and desirable.
The exemplary illustrative non-limiting technology herein provides, in one illustrative non-limiting exemplary implementation referred to herein as “Smartmat” (Smartmat Area Activity Monitor and Personnel Identification System), monitoring and identifying people, animals and other objects that pass through a control volume. Among other attributes, the exemplary system implementation can count, classify and identify objects, such as pedestrians, animals, bicycles, wheelchairs, vehicles, rollerbladers and other objects, either singlely or in groups. Exemplary Smartmat implementations differentiate objects based on weight, footprint and floor/wall pressure patterns such as footfall patterns of pedestrians and other patterns. The system may be applied to security monitoring, physical activity monitoring, market traffic surveys and other traffic surveys, security checkpoint/gate monitoring, traffic light activation and other device activation such as security cameras, and other monitoring applications. Smartmat may be portable or permanently installed. In one instantiation of the technology, it is affordable, rugged, quickly set up, easy to use, works both in and outdoors, and operates for long periods of time. Smartmats can be of nearly any size and shape limited only by storage requirements and internal network bandwidth. A Smartmat's geometry is stored with the mat—non-rectangular shapes can be created and more than one mat can be connected in a network. Smartmats can communicate with each other to synchronize their time stamps and control power consumption. A collection of Smartmats in a building can be synchronized for high level analyses of traffic patterns or security mechanisms can be alerted. Other instantiations are possible. Data may be accessed via download using standard Smart Media cards, connect to the system via a serial port, Ethernet or wirelessly, either in batch or in real time or downloaded and monitored via other means. The Smartmat system often includes data management and data analysis software. System options may include an embedded GPS for recording outdoor placement and a Geographic Information System (GIS) for analyzing geospatial aspects of physical activity.
An example illustrative non-limiting instantiation may possess the following attributes:                reasonable cost (e.g., less than $100 per sq. ft.)        set up by minimally trained personnel quickly (e.g., in less than 10 minutes)        durable in all weather        vandalism resistant (puncture resistant, redundant signal paths)        theft resistant (little apparent value, hard points for securing)        easy to download data        collect data for a reasonable length of time (e.g., 72 hours minimum, up to 2 weeks in low-traffic areas)        minimal data loss risk (storage on permanent media)        cover many different sized areas and slopes, to include stairs        operate on unpaved surfaces free of excessive vegetation (maintained trails, fire-roads, other unimproved roads)        accept and store metadata from a user interface (palmtop or laptop)        properly mark data files with metadata (time, place, Smartmat ID, etc.)        
Exemplary data reduction software may:                count number of pedestrians with false alarm rate under 5%        separate pedestrians from “noise” such as animals and bikers        work with groups of pedestrians        yield direction of pedestrians (especially important for stairways) to ±30 deg.        time stamp all events local and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)        display raw data as “footprints” over time, with a counter that shows how the software is interpreting the footprints.        
It is desirable, but not necessary, for exemplary non-limiting device implementations to be:                programmable in the field (duty cycle, sensitivity, etc.)        self-locating (GPS capable), GPS may be located in the user interface (palmtop), with data download at time of initiation cycle        
It is desirable, but not necessary, for exemplary non-limiting data reduction software implementations to:                classify pedestrians based on stride length, footfall size and footfall pressure        estimate pedestrian weight        estimate speed of pedestrian        yield data for bikes, roller blades, etc.        store data in database with appropriate schema and all relevant metadata        register data in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to permit geospatially-relevant analyses display data in a virtual environment that would show a scene of avatars walking through the controlled space        other features and advantages.        